Al Michael Olszewski leads Flathead defense
Type Flathead linebacker Al Michael Olszewski’s name
into any Internet search engine and you might be surprised by the
results.
You won’t see highlights of his outing against Great
Falls, when he blocked a field goal and racked up 20 tackles,
though there will be several references to his selection to the
2010 all-conference team.
The most prevalent return, though, will be a YouTube
video showing him and teammate John Collins strumming guitars and
crooning a cover of a popular Taylor Swift song.
The well-sung tune was well-received by a high school
talent show audience that broke into wild applause when the
performance came to an end.
The applause is still coming, but this time of year
it’s directed toward the football field where Olszewski is leading
the Flathead defense in tackles.
The part-time singer/guitarist and full-time
straight-A student has earned the respect of his coach, teammates
and opposing offenses during his career with the Braves.
“He’s obviously very bright both in the classroom and
on the football field,” Flathead coach Russell McCarvel says.
“One of the best things about him is he makes plays.
He gets a lot of tackles. He’s not the most physical guy, but he
makes a lot of plays.”
Olszewski doesn’t take exception to his coach
labeling him as “not the most physical guy,” though others involved
in a game defined by physicality might cringe at the
description.
He knows it’s true.
At 5-foot 11-inches and 180 pounds, he’s far from
being a behemoth on the gridiron and says he has to tailor his play
to that reality.
“I’m not big enough to be a physical guy,” Olszewski
says. “I’m kind of a small linebacker, so instead of leveling kids
I just get them down the easy way, (I) tackle them by the legs or
below the waist.”
However he does it, he’s doing it a lot.
Olszewski has 44 tackles through five games,
including the aforementioned 20 he totaled when the Braves topped
the Great Falls Bison 31-20 on Sept. 9. He also has three
sacks.
“You have to make sure that even if you think that
you’re not going to be in on the play that you hustle to the play
because they might break a tackle or something, and then you’re
right there to make the tackle,” he says.
Olszewski didn’t even expect to be in the starting
lineup last season, his junior year.
But start he did.
His breakthrough moment came when he registered a
sack for an eight-yard loss on the first play of the team’s second
game.
“I think from then on I just kind of realized that
‘maybe this is my thing. Maybe playing football is something I can
be good at,’” he says.
At the end of the season, his teammates selected him
as Flathead’s most valuable defensive player.
“Some of both,” McCarvel says when asked if Olszewski
leads by example or voice. “He certainly is a leader by example,
but he’s also not afraid to let guys know what they need to be
doing, but not in a demonstrative way. The players respect
him.”
As successful as he’s been on the football field,
it’s hard to compare anything with his academic record.
Olszewski has carried a perfect 4.0 throughout his
time at Flathead High School, all while tackling an athletic
regimen that includes basketball as well as football.
He hasn’t decided what path he’ll take after he
graduates.
Hearing him talk about his options is an interesting
experience, though.
He says he might attempt to walk on to Carroll
College’s football team.
“That’s something I’ll have to really think about and
pray about,” he says.
Then there is the question of what he will study.
Olszewski, the son of an orthopedic surgeon, has it
narrowed down to the medical field and the criminal justice
arena.
He says he might be a physical therapist or maybe an
FBI agent.
Olszewski might also consider furthering his
inclination for music. He plays piano and guitar and dabbles with
drums.
Though reluctant to say he would replicate the high
school talent show on a professional scale, he eventually nods in
the affirmative when asked if he could see himself pursuing a
career in music.
“I’m always going to have my guitar,” he says.